Japan Renewal Party

The Japan Renewal Party (JRP) was a neoconservative political party in Japan that was active from 1993 to 1994. The party was founded by Tsutomu Hata, Ichiro Ozawa, and 42 other reformist former Liberal Democratic Party of Japan politicians. In the 1993 elections, the JRP won 55 seats, making it one of the most powerful opposition parties. The party drew off crucial support from the LDP, assisting in the ending the LDP's 38-year dominance of Japanese politics. The party later formed a coalition government with the Japan Socialist Party, the Democratic Socialist Party of Japan, and Komeito, ruling the government. The JRP was able to exert great power in the coalition, but its heavy-handed style forced other members out of the coalition. In 1994, the JRP merged into the New Frontier Party.